As the NFL continues its efforts to stamp out the most dangerous plays, the league has announced a new measure to punish players who frequently commit them.
On Wednesday, the NFL announced a new measure that will suspend players for one game if they commit three violations of these flag-worthy plays:
- Blindside block
- Hip-drop tackle
- Hit on a defenseless player
- Horse-collar tackle
- Launching
And in a change that comes straight out of the pro soccer playbook, these penalties will accrue across games and even seasons.
These changes were agreed upon by the NFL and the NFL players union (NFLPA). But the changes also comes with fine adjustments for the players.
Players will receive 50-percent of their fined money back as an incentive for not committing a second violation in a given season. Additionally, players fined in any other category will get all of their fine money back if they commit no other similar fines.
All of these changes have reportedly been agreed upon on a one-year trial basis.
Incidentally, had these new rules been in effect over the past few years, only two players would have been suspended in such a manner: Azeez Al-Shaair in 2024 and Frankie Luvu in 2025. In addition, over $1.7 million in fines would have been returned to players.
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Seismic Changes in the NFL
The NFL has been trying to remove some of the most dangerous plays from the league for a long time now with very mixed results. Enhanced fines haven’t really done the trick, and efforts to specifically take out the hip-drop tackle have also struggled to get the desired results.
But this new measure to effectively reward good behavior from prior fines and punish habitual offenders of the worst fouls is certainly a new direction.
Granted, soccer has had the yellow card accumulation system in place for generations and it hasn’t completely eradicated hard fouls and violent conduct from even that comparatively less physical game.
Perhaps this change in direction will at least result in less injuries. One can hope.
